1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates, in general, to heating cookers and, more particularly, to a heating cooker which is capable of cooking food with hot steam.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, heating cookers are cooking machines which cook foods in cooking cavities thereof with heated air. In the heating cookers, the cooking of the food is accomplished through several heat transfer phenomena like, for example, (1) “convection”, which is the transfer of heat to the food by a circulation or movement of air heated by a heater in a cooking cavity, (2) “radiation”, which is a process in which heat is emitted from both the heater and a heated inner surface of the cooking cavity and transmitted through the air to be absorbed by the foo, and (3) “conduction”, which is the transfer of heat from the heated air to the food through a container which contains the food therein.
Conventional heating cookers are advantageous in that the cooking of food in the heating cookers is accomplished by the direct transfer of heat to the food through “convection” and “radiation”, so that the cooking is finished within a short period of time, and the cooking of several kinds of foods simultaneously, is possible. However, the cooking of food in the conventional heating cookers is accompanied by an evaporation of moisture laden in the food to steam. Thus, the conventional heating cookers are not suitable for preparation of steamed food which requires addition of water to the food during steaming.